Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender'

A senior NTC official says that Saadi Gaddafi, the deposed Libyan leader's third son, is willing to give himself up.

A senior National Transitional Council official in Libya has told Al Jazeera that Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi, is willing to give himself up.

Abdelhakim Belhaj, the NTC's military leader in Tripoli, said on Wednesday that Saddi called him and asked if he could surrender.

In an exclusive interview, Belhaj said the revolutionaries knew for sure where some of the regime leaders were, including unconfirmed reports on where Gaddafi was.

"Gaddafi is now fleeing - and we have a good idea where he is," Ali Tarhouni, a senior NTC minister said earlier, without elaborating. "We don't have any doubt that we will catch him."

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There has been speculation that Gaddafi is seeking refuge in Sirte or one of the other remaining regime strongholds, among them the towns of Bani Walid or Sabha.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Tripoli said: “We asked him [Belhaj] about the military situation, remaining members of the Gaddafi family, and he said that he believes one of Gaddafi's sons, Saadi, is preparing to surrender.

"According to Belhaj, Saddi doesn't want to leave Libya, he wants to talk to the national council and negotiate his surrender. He thinks he knows the whereabouts of Saddi Gaddafi from the phone call. Also says he believes some senior figures of the government are now ready to surrender, such as the former prime minister.

"Belhaj made a point of saying that any of those who do surrender will be treated properly, and court cases will be held to international norms. Belhaj thought that Muammar Gaddafi is less likely to surrender, but would be treated fairly if he did. He would be held in custody with proper human rights.”

Authorities there confirmed on Tuesday that Gaddafi's second wife Safia, his daughter Aisha, and his sons Muhammad and Hannibal were in Algeria and had been granted permission to enter based on "humanitarian grounds".

Gaddafi's sons: Where are they?

Mohammad: He has entered Algeria. He was captured by Libyan fighters in Tripoli but managed to escape

Hannibal: He is now in Algeria

Saif al-Islam: Believed to have moved to the town of Bin Walid, south of Tripoli

Saif al-Arab: Killed by a NATO air strike in April

Khamis: There are rumours of his death but it is yet to be confirmed

Saadi: At large

Mutasim: At large.

According to AFP news agency, Aisha gave birth to a girl while in Algeria.

Mahmoud Shammam, information minister in Libya's rebel government, told the Associated Press news agency that he considered Algeria's harbouring of Hannibal an act of aggression.

"I cannot confirm it, but I can comment that, especially for Hannibal, if he fled to Algiers and the Algerian authorities allowed him to do that, we'll consider this as an aggressive act against the Libyan people's wish," he said.

In all, Gaddafi has eight biological children, a daughter and seven sons.

Meanwhile, Khamis Gaddafi, another of Gaddafi's sons, whose military unit is accused of killing dozens of detainees in Tripoli, may be placed on the international war crimes court's most-wanted list, the prosecutor told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court [ICC] has already approved warrants for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, said he may also apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis, after Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.

"We know Khamis should also be prosecuted because he was the commander of the brigade that was more active on some of the crimes," Moreno-Ocampo said.

Moreno-Ocampo said a UN Human Rights Council commission would conduct further investigations on the ground in Libya soon and that he would base his decisions on the results.

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